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stir up

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stir someone up

Fig. to get someone excited; to get someone angry. (Fig. on stir something up.) The march music really stirred the audience up. The march stirred up the audience.

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stir something up

 

1. Lit. to mix something by stirring. Please stir the pancake batter up before you use it. Please stir up the batter.

2. Fig. to cause trouble. Why are you always trying to stir trouble up? Are you stirring up trouble again?

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stir up somebody/something

also stir up a hornet's nest

to cause a situation that upsets many people One official claimed that foreign activists were stirring up trouble. The threat of censorship stirred up a hornet's nest of criticism on the Internet.

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stir up

1. Mix together the ingredients or parts, as in He stirred up some pancake batter, or Will you stir up the fire? [Mid-1300s]

2. Rouse to action, incite, provoke, as in He's always stirring up trouble among the campers, or If the strikers aren't careful they'll stir up a riot. [First half of 1500s] Also see stir up a hornets' nest.

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stir up

v.

1. To mix something before cooking or use: You must stir up the concrete thoroughly before you start paving the path. I poured the batter into a bowl and stirred it up vigorously.

2. To churn or agitate something into a state of turbulence: The storm stirred up the normally placid lake. The wind stirs the leaves up.

3. To cause something to form by churning or agitating: The truck zoomed off, stirring a cloud of dust up behind it. I stirred up a batch of concrete in the mixer and got to work paving the driveway.

4. To rouse the emotions of someone or something; excite someone or something: The protesters hope to stir up the public through this demonstration. The teacher stirred the students up when she threatened to give them more work.

5. To summon some collective emotion or sentiment by exciting a group of people: The court's verdict was certain to stir up controversy. The tourism board is trying to stir up interest in the city.

6. To evoke some mental image or remembrance: That old picture stirs up many memories for me.

See also: stir, up